


Unfiltered

by WolfKomoki



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: ADHD Barry Allen, Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Ableist Language, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism Spectrum, Autistic Julian Albert, M/M, but only in the first chapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-02-27
Packaged: 2019-03-24 22:31:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13820805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfKomoki/pseuds/WolfKomoki
Summary: Barry Allen was born with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). It was already hard to focus when he didn't have powers, now that the speed force is in his system? Everything is heightened, including his ADHD. Julian Albert is Autistic, and starts working with Barry who has ADHD. Who knew that the fastest man alive had ADHD?





	Unfiltered

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SophiaCatherine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SophiaCatherine/gifts).



> The Flash is owned by The CW.  
> Before you comment on this fic stating that "You obviously have no idea what Autism is like. That's not what Autistic people are like at all".  
> You should know that  
> 1\. I'm Autistic.  
> 2\. Autism is a spectrum. No two people are alike.  
> 3\. This is based on my experiences alone.  
> Like wise, before you comment on this fic stating that "You obviously don't have ADHD. That's not what ADHD is like".  
> You should know that  
> 1\. I have ADHD  
> 2\. Yes, you can be both Autistic and have ADHD.  
> 3\. This is based on my experiences alone.  
> Warning: The first chapter has a lot of ableist language in it, particularly when it deals with Barry's childhood. Barry's childhood would not have been realistic, if people weren't ableist. It is not, and never will be okay to ever use the word re**ard or re**arded, ever. The rest of the chapters will avoid using it, but I still thought I'd let readers know ahead of time.

         When Barry came to live with Joe, he started noticing things he never noticed in him before. The first thing he noticed was that Barry was always fidgeting. When he would be forced to sit still, he'd squirm in his chair. Barry wasn't a child that could sit still, that much Joe was certain of. Joe just shrugged it off. He was an eleven-year-old boy, obviously he was going to fidget. Joe didn't think much of it until one day he got a call from Barry's teacher.

        

"Mr. West, you need to teach your child not to interrupt the other children. I have told your son time, and time again not to interrupt others while they're talking, but your son either doesn't care to listen, or he's too stupid to listen." The teacher says, and that's when Joe's blood boils. He'll make damn sure that that teacher never calls Barry stupid again, that's for sure. When Barry gets home, he sits in the chair on the table, squirming as he tries to do his homework. _I'm not stupid. It's not my fault that I can't focus on anything._

        

Barry slams his pencil down in frustration and starts crying. Eventually Iris walks in to see Barry sitting in the chair in tears.

        

"Barry! What's wrong? Why are you crying?" She asks, putting her bag on the floor as she ran over to her friend.

        

"'M not retarded Iris. Just 'cause I can't focus doesn't mean I'm retarded." He sobbed. Joe's blood boiled.

        

"Who called you that?" He demands.

        

"All my teachers. They all call me that anytime I can't focus." Barry sobs.

        

" _That's it_! I am marching down to that school tomorrow morning." Joe shouts. Barry was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder that next year, and Joe had his IEP created. Barry was in grade seven now, and he'd been put into resource classes. Barry loved his resource classes. No one there called him the r word, and no one got angry with him there.

        

People actually understood him there, and he could actually do his work now. Barry hated the taste of his medication, but he loved being able to focus. The only downside was not being able to eat very much during the day.

Years passed, and Barry's grades improved drastically. When Barry got into high school, however, people stopped bullying him for his ADHD, and instead started bullying him because of his dad being in prison. Barry almost missed the harsh words, anything was better than being beaten up every day.

        

When Barry became an adult, he went to college to become a Forensic Scientist. When Barry graduated, he was beaming. He'd love to see the look on his childhood teacher's faces that called him the r word and stupid right now. When Barry got his powers, he was quickly starting to hate the fact that medication doesn't work with him anymore. After his return to work from his nine-month coma, Barry started multitasking a lot more. His brain had always worked fast, even before the speed force, but now it really worked fast. Years have passed since then, and Barry finds himself in a new timeline post Flashpoint.

                  Julian slowly walked outside his house, slowly locking the front door as he prepares to go to work. When he steps outside, he's blinded by the sunlight. Slowly, he reaches into his work bag and puts on a pair of dark sunglasses. As he stands there, he can hear the cars going by, people talking, people walking, dogs barking, cats meowing, birds tweeting, people laughing, people yelling, the sound of heels clacking against the road, tires squealing against the road, children playing, children laughing. He can smell cigarette smoke in the distance, which makes him want to start coughing.

        

He was too overwhelmed to drive to work this morning, so he grabs his phone, calling for an Uber to take him to work. He'd already packed his breakfast and lunch, so he didn't have to worry about that. It was about forty minutes later when the Uber arrives, and Julian gets in, buckling himself in as he tells the driver to drive him to the CCPD. When they get there, Julian pays for the ride, and walks to the front of the building. When Julian walks inside, he's blinded by the fluorescent lights.

        

The loud hum of the lights was irritating, but he couldn't put on his headphones, not in front of these people: he didn't want the odd stares that he knows that he'll get. The sounds in the room are muddled: between people talking, people walking, shoes, walking against the hard tile, the phones ringing, people clacking on a keyboard, printers, printing, the clock ticking, the cars outside, the sirens outside, people talking, people walking, dogs barking, cats meowing, birds tweeting, people laughing, people yelling, the sound of heels clacking against the floor. He can smell cigarette smoke, and oh, someone was having tuna. Julian can feel the meltdown coming already, all he wants to do is scream. Eventually he makes it into his and Barry's lab.

And for once he's grateful that Barry is late. Julian closes the door, hoping that it would draw less attention to him.

         When Julian walks in the room, he starts pacing. His breathing is becoming more and more rapid. Everything was just too much right now, too overwhelming. He wants to scream, he does, but he can't seem to get it to happen. His breathing is getting even faster now, and he wants to destroy something. Eventually, though, his mind clouds over, and he's grabbing his jacket, placing it on the floor as he lays down with his hoodie covering his head, his jacket covering him as he lays there, now in a shutdown. Julian wants to move, he wants to get up from the floor, but he can't. He can't respond to any outside stimuli. When Julian was in a shutdown, he feels trapped in his body. He wants to move, but he can't. His senses slowly start shutting down when he's in one, until he's what he would call being catatonic.

 


End file.
